This invention relates to a device for air-massage in which an air inflatable bag is combined with an elastic element which to come into a direct contact with a body portion. The elastic element is connectively surmounted on one surface of the bag and is moved for massage by inflating and deflating the bag with a compressed air.
Heretofore, various types of massaging devices have been proposed in one of which an air inflatable bag made of a flexible material such as rubber is wound around a body portion such as an arm or a leg and the bag is inflated and deflated with a compressed air to apply and release pressure on a blood vessel, thereby to facilitate the circulation of blood (mainly venous blood and lymph) for massage.
This conventional device, however, has the disadvantages that the air bag is inflated into a cylindrical form when filled with the air, so that an arched surface of the bag comes into uneven contact with the body portion. As a result, pressure is localized with a minimum stimulus to give uncomfortable feeling to the body portion. In other words, an over all even contact of the inflated bag with the body portion is difficult to obtain, so that a satisfactory massage effect is not be achieved.
Another type of device for medical treatment employing a variety of the elastic elements has also been proposed in order to obtain the desired physical effects similar to those of finger-pressure therapy and the acupuncture. The device of this type, however, has been designed to treat a local site of a human body and may not be employed for general use. Even if such a device is employed for massage, it is too difficult to obtain a good massage effect making the stream of blood and lymph better.
Moreover, according to this conventional device for a large volume of air is required to kill the air inflatable bag when a strong pressure is to be applied on a body portion, so that an air-compressor of a large capacity is needed, bringing about a disadvantageous increase in the equipment cost.
According to the present invention a new type of device for air-massage is provided which eliminates all the above-mentioned defects and shows a higher massage effect with use of a small volume of air.
Namely, it has now been found that a comfortable massage effect may be achieved by providing a device with an elastic contacting element for a direct massage action to a body portion and an air inflatable bag for inflation and deflation with a compressed air, by connectively surmounting the elastic contacting element on one surface of the air inflatable bag, by winding the device around a body portion such as a diseased site and by feeding and exhausting air in relation to the bag.
Thus, the elastic element comes into an even contact with the body portion and makes the massage effect uniform and comfortable.
Further, it has been found that the attached equipment of the device may be smaller because the higher massage effect may be obtained with a small capacity of the bag using a small volume of the air.